The  Jewish  Attitude 
Toward  Christ 


BY 

E.  S.  GREENBAUM 


Philadelphia 


PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION 
AND  SABBATH  SCHOOL  WORK 


Copyright,  1919 
By  the  Trustees  of  the 

Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication  and  Sabbath  School  Wodb 


Introduction 


The  present  reasonable  and  respectful  attitude 
on  the  part  of  many  enlightened  modern  Jews 
toward  the  name  of  Jesus  fills  with  hope  those 
who  have  found  in  Jesus  the  Messiah  of  Israel, 
even  though  this  change  of  attitude  falls  short 
of  the  confession  of  his  twofold  glory  as  “  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God.”  It  is  a  glim¬ 
mer  which,  we  trust,  will  grow  into  clearer  light, 
and  is  a  great  advance  upon  the  stupid  prejudice 
frequently  met  with  in  former  days. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  rabbinical  and  Talmudi- 
cal  Judaism  is  not  a  true  development  of  the 
faith  of  ancient  Israel  as  reflected  in  its  psalms 
and  in  the  writings  of  the  prophets.  The  Old 
Testament  called  for  a  man,  the  Man  whose  face 
shines  from  every  page  of  the  New;  modern 
Judaism  is  a  mere  makeshift  for  that  Man.  We 
who  have  been  under  its  yoke  know  what  a  sorry 
substitute  it  is,  how  unsatisfying  to  the  heart,, 
how  unavailing  for  the  conscience,  how  unfruit¬ 
ful  for  the  life!  But  we  rejoice  that  an  increas¬ 
ing  number  of  our  Jewish  brethren  are  prepared' 
to  investigate  afresh — and  that  without  tradi¬ 
tional  prejudice — the  claims  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
to  be  the  Messiah  of  Israel. 


Max  I.  Reich. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
Columbia  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/jewishattitudetoOOgree 


The  Jewish  Attitude  Toward  Christ 


Ever  since  the  day  when  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
stood  in  judgment  before  Pontius  Pilate  and  the 
multitude  of  our  Jewish  brethren  at  the  instiga¬ 
tion  of  false  leaders  cried,  “  Away  with  him,” 
our  attitude  toward  Christ  has  been  one  of  hos¬ 
tility.  Jesus,  “  the  greatest  blessing  for  the  entire 
world,”  Jesus,  “  the  light  of  the  world,”  Jesus, 
“  the  breathing  of  whose  very  name  casts  a  spell 
of  holiness  over  the  human  heart,”  this  Jesus  has 
been  and  still  is  looked  upon  by  the  great  mass 
of  unenlightened  Jews  as  a  false  prophet,  a 
traitor,  a  blasphemer,  and  a  destroyer,  the  enemy 
of  Israel  and  of  Jehovah.  His  very  name  is 
shunned  by  his  brethren  according  to  the  flesh ; 
its  very  mention  is  a  sin.  When  Christ’s  name 
has  to  be  mentioned  a  nickname  is  substituted. 
“  That  man,”  “  the  hanged  one,”  “  the  one  whose 
name  is  blotted  out,”  are  some  of  the  substitu¬ 
tional  names  for  him  who  is  “  the  glory  of 
Israel.”  From  childhood  abhorrence  of  Christ 
and  his  teachings  has  been  instilled.  As  one  looks 
back  to  those  days  it  all  seems  a  horrible  night- 


5 


mare.  ,  Yet  there  are  many  thousands  of  our 
brethren  who  still  see  in  Jesus  their  greatest 
enemy,  whose  hearts  are  full  of  contempt  of  all 
that  is  connected  with  him  and  his  teachings. 

All  through  the  dark  ages  of  Jewish  history 
there  were  some  Jews  who  knew  the  truth  about 
Jesus.  They  realized  that  in  him  the  promises 
through  the  prophets  found  their  fulfillment. 
They  knew  that  he  was  Israel’s  only  hope.  In 
him  they  saw  Israel’s  promised  Messiah,  the 
glory  of  Israel  and  the  light  of  the  Gentiles. 
They  knew  that  with  him  was  bound  up  the 
future  of  our  people  for  in  him  there  is  life, 
hope,  and  salvation.  These  Jews,  few  in  number 
though  they  were,  kept  not  silence.  They  pro¬ 
claimed  to  their  brethren  that  in  Jesus  they  had 
found  him  of  whom  Moses  and  the  prophets 
spoke.  They  tried  to  convince  the  great  mass 
of  our  brethren  that  Jesus  was  not  that  which 
we  were  taught  of  him.  Unfortunately  their 
voice  was  but  a  voice  in  the  wilderness.  Indi¬ 
viduals  listened  to  the  message  and  accepted  it, 
but  the  great  majority  refused  to  hear  anything 
of  the  Nazarene.  The  lot  of  those  who  con¬ 
fessed  Jesus  as  Christ  was  very  hard;  like  their 
Master,  they  were  despised,  rejected,  hated,  and 
persecuted.  The  follower  of  Christ  was  stamped 


6 


as  an  apostate,  and  to  inflict  pain  on  such  was 
considered,  and  unfortunately  is  still  considered 
by  many,  as  the  performance  of  some  worthy 
and  religious  act. 

With  the  dawning  of  the  new  age  a  change  has 
come  over  our  people.  We  live  no  longer  be¬ 
hind  the  walls  of  the  ghetto.  We  have  outgrown 
the  “  four  yards  of  Halacha.”  We  have  caught 
sight  of  the  outside  world.  We  Jews  have  come 
into  contact  with  the  great  Gentile  world,  and 
find  that  wisdom  will  not  die  with  us.  We  find 
that  in  this,  to  us,  new  world,  there  are  other 
men  who  think,  feel,  and  understand,  men  with 
ideals  and  noble  aspirations.  To  our  great  sur¬ 
prise  we  also  find  that  the  same  Jesus  whom  we 
despised  and  rejected  occupies  the  central  place 
in  this  great  world.  This  Jesus  of  whom  we 
thought  so  little  is  influencing  the  whole  human 
race.  The  noblest  and  best  sons  of  humanity  are 
paying  homage  to  the  Nazarene  and  ascribing 
their  highest  aspirations  tO'  him.  We  find  that 
in  this  new  world  we  have  to  come  into  close 
contact  with  Christ,  his  influence  and  teaching. 

While  he  has  not  as  yet  a  clpr  view  of  Christ, 
the  enlightened  Jew  realizes  that  the  old  view  is 
obsolete.  To  speak  of  him  in  the  terms  of  the 
old  ghetto  days  would  be  nothing  less  than  play- 


7 


ing  the  idiot.  Facts  and  life  are  too  outspoken 
in  their  valuation  of  Jesus  and  his  teachings. 
Thus  an  interest  in  the  life  and  teaching  of  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  has  arisen.  Jews  have  begun  to 
study  the  New  Testament,  some  out  of  curiosity, 
others  in  order  to  be  able  to  defend  Judaism,  still 
others  in  order  to  be  able  to  assail  Christianity, 
but  a  goodly  number  are  in  real  earnest,  seeking 
to  find  the  truth.  During  the  last  century  and  in 
this,  a  host  of  sons  and  daughters  of  Israel  have 
found  in  Jesus  their  Messiah  and  have  glorified 
him  by  their  lives  and  testimony.  Enlightened 
Jews  from  every  part  of  the  globe,  without  as 
yet  accepting  his  Messianic  claims,  bear  testimony 
that  Jesus  is  the  greatest  of  the  children  of  men, 
the  noblest  teacher  and  benefactor  of  humanity. 
His  life,  they  say,  was  holy,  pure,  unselfish,  and 
godly.  His  teaching,  they  tell  us,  is  Jewish  and 
in  conformity  with  the  teaching  of  Moses  and  the 
prophets. 

How  sweet  to  the  ear  used  to  the  curses  and 
defamations  of  Talmudic  Judaism  are  the  new 
voices  in  modern  Jewry!  Listen  carefully  to 
them  as  they  speak  in  the  following  pages.  They 
are  the  voices  of  representative  Jews,  historians, 
philosophers,  scholars,  theologians,  and  leaders 
of  popular  movements  in  Jewry,  who  are  known, 
and  favorably  known,  in  Europe  and  America. 


8 


SEMEN  M.  DUBNOV — Out  of  the  bosom  of  Judaism 
went  forth  the  religion  that  in  a  short  time  ran 
its  triumphant  course  through  the  whole  ancient 
world,  transforming  races  of  barbarians  into  civ¬ 
ilized  beings.  It  was  the  fulfillment  of  the  pro¬ 
phetical  promise  that  the  nations  would  walk  in 
the  light  of  Israel.  (“Jewish  History,”  Ch.  II.) 

BARUCH  SPINOZA — Christ  was  not  so  much  a 
prophet  as  the  mouthpiece  of  God.  Christ  was 
sent  to  teach,  not  only  the  Jews,  but  the  whole 
human  race;  and  therefore  it  was  not  enough 
that  his  mind  should  be  adapted  to  the  opinions 
of  the  Jews  alone,  but  also  to  the  opinions  and 
fundamental  teachings  common  to  the  whole  hu¬ 
man  race — in  other  words,  to  ideas  universal  and 
true.  (“Tractatus  Theologico-Politicus,”  Ch.  IV.) 

ISRAEL  ZANGWILL — Not  a  daybreak  but  a  burst 
of  sunshine.  (In  answer  to  Dr.  I.  K.  Funk’s 
question :  “  Do  you  agree  with  Dr.  Kohler  that 
there  was  a  spiritual  daybreak  on  the  shores  of 
Galilee  nineteen  centuries  ago,  which  was  not 
sufficiently  recognized  by  the  official  sanhedrin 
of  that  time?”) 


MAX  NORDAU — If  the  Jews,  up  to  the  present,  have 
not  publicly  rendered  homage  to  the  sublime 
moral  beauty  of  the  figure  of  Jesus,  it  is  because 
their  tormentors  have  already  persecuted,  tor¬ 
tured,  assassinated  them  in  his  name.  The  Jews 
have  drawn  their  conclusions  from  the  disciples 
as  to  the  Master.  It  was  wrong,  but  pardonable 
in  the  eternal  victims  of  the  implacably  cruel 
hatred  of  those  who  called  themselves  Chris¬ 
tians.  (In  a  reply,  a  Hebrew  Christian,  who 
asked  whether  the  Jews  as  a  people  ought  not  to 
reconsider  the  judgment  of  condemnation  passed 
by  theii'  forefathers  on  Jesus.)  (Jewish  Chronicle, 
December  15,  1899.) 


9 


CLAUDE  G.  MONTEFIORE — There  is  in  it  [the 
New  Testament]  much  that  is  great  and  noble, 
much  that  is  sublime  and  tender,  much  that  is 
good  and  true.  The  greater  part  consists  in  a 
fresh  presentment  of  some  of  the  best  and  high¬ 
est  teachings  in  the  Old  Testament,  in  a  vivid 
reformulation  of  it.  But  a  part  consists  in  fuller 
development  or  in  a  clearer  and  more  emphatic 
expression  of  certain  truths,  which  previously 
were  only  implicit,  or  not  fully  drawn  out. 
(Jewish  Chronicle,  December  14,  1899.) 

ISIDORE  SINGER — I  regard  Jesus  of  Nazareth  as 
a  Jew  of  the  Jews,  one  whom  all  Jewish  people 
are  learning  to  love.  His  teaching  has  been  an 
immense  service  to  the  world  in  bringing  Israel’s 
God  to  the  knowledge  of  hundreds  of  millions 
of  mankind.  (In  a  letter  to  Dr.  I.  K.  Funk, 
March  25,  1901.) 

ABRAHAM  KROCHMAL— Has  he  [Jesus]  not 
brought  millions  under  the  wing  of  the  divine 
majesty  and  taught  men  discipline,  morality, 
righteousness,  and  faith  through  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit?  (Translated  from  the  Hebrew 
and  quoted  by  Rev.  A.  R.  Kuldell  in  “Jewish 
View  of  Jesus  Reviewed.”) 

JOSEPH  REINACH — The  characteristic  mark  of 
Jesus’  moral  is  love,  the  purest  and  noblest  love 
that  ever  existed — love  for  all  human  creatures, 
love  for  the  poor,  love  for  the  wicked.  Love  is 
joy,  and  love  is  duty,  and  love  is  life.  Humanity, 
since  its  first  day  and  to  its  last  day,  was  and 
will  be  thirsty  for  love,  and  Jesus  is  and  will 
remain  one  of  the  highest  types  of  humanity,  be¬ 
cause  his  words  and  his  legends  and  his  poetry 
are  and  will  be  an  eternal  source  of  love.  (From 
a  letter  to  1.  K.  Funk,  November  28.  1899.) 

CESAR  LOMBROSO — In  my  eyes  Jesus  is  one  of 


10 


the  greatest  geniuses  the  world  has  produced. 
(From  a  letter  to  Dr.  I.  K.  Funk,  September  29, 
1899.) 

MORITZ  LAZARUS — I  am  of  the  opinion  that  we 
should  endeavor  with  all  possible  zeal  to  obtain 
an  exact  understanding  of  the  great  personality 
of  Jesus  and  to  reclaim  him  for  Judaism. 
(From  a  letter  to  Dr.  I.  K.  Funk,  January  24, 
1901.) 

MORRIS  JASTROW — From  the  historic  point  of 
view,  Jesus  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  direct  successor 
of  the  Hebrew  prophets.  His  teachings  are  syn¬ 
onymous  with  the  highest  spiritual  aspirations  of 
the  human  race.  .  .  .  The  long  hoped-for  re¬ 

conciliation  between  Judaism  and  Christianity 
will  come  when  once  the  teachings  of  Jesus  shall 
have  become  the  axioms  of  human  conduct. 
(From  a  letter  to  Dr.  I.  K.  Funk,  November  6, 

1899.) 

DAVID  CASTELLI — Jesus  in  a  certain  sense  ful¬ 
filled  in  his  person  the  prophecies  of  the  Old 
Testament;  they  reached  in  him  a  height  beyond 
which  it  is  impossible  to  go.  He  was  not  the 
magnificent  worldly  king,  since  there  could  be  no 
question  of  a  worldly  king  in  Israel  again,  for 
whom  the  Hebrews  waited  in  vain ;  but  he  was 
the  great  teacher  of  mankind,  spreading  among 
all  nations  that  principle  of  love  and  humanity 
which,  until  then,  had  remained  confined  within 
the  limits  of  Judaism.  His  word,  and  after  him 
that  of  the  apostles  who,  like  himself,  were  born 
and  reared  in  Judaism,  were  a  powerful  means 
of  carrying  into  effect  the  yet  unfulfilled  prophecy 
of  the  Old  Testament:  “Jehovah  shall  be  king 
over  all  the  earth ;  in  that  day  shall  Jehovah  be 
one,  and  his  name  one.”  (From  a  letter  to 
Dr.  I.  K,  Funk,  September  28th,  1899.) 


11 


J.  II.  HOFFMAN — I  revere  him  [Jesus]  for  having 
brought  home,  by  his  own  life  and  his  teachings, 
to  the  innermost  hearts  and  souls  of  mankind, 
of  all  times  in  every  station,  the  eternal  truths  as 
first  embodied  in  the  Mosaic  code  and  proclaimed 
in  undying  words  by  the  prophets.  I  recognize 
in  him  the  blending  of  the  divine  and  human,  the 
lofty  and  the  lowly,  showing  the  path  for  the 
dual  nature  of  man  by  divine  aspiration  to  gain 
the  victory  over  the  earthly  life  tending  to  draw 
him  downward — the  Son  of  God  triumphing  over 
the  child  of  earth.  (From  a  letter  to  Dr.  I.  K. 
Funk,  October  6,  1899.) 

JOSEPH  KRAUSKOPF — But  the  simple  truths  which 
he  [Jesus]  taught  have  ever  constituted  his  great¬ 
est  glory,  have  carried  his  name  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth,  and  from  proudest  palace  to  humblest 
hut,  these  have  ever  come  as  a  healing  balm  to 
hearts  heavy-laden,  and  to  minds  sorrowing  and 
despairing,  these  have  for  nearly  nineteen  hun¬ 
dred  years  formed  the  rule  of  right  and  the  law 
of  duty,  the  guide  to  virtue  for  countless  mil¬ 
lions  of  people.  (Lecture:  “Jesus  a  Jew,  not  a 
Christian.”) 

KAUFMANN  KOHLi^R — A  great  personality,  stand¬ 
ing  unlike  any  other  midway  between  heaven 
and  earth,  equally  near  to  God  and  to  man, 
Jesus,  the  helper  of  the  poor,  the  friend  of  the 
sinner,  the  brother  of  every  fellow  sufferer,  the 
comforter  of  every  sorrow-laden  one,  the  healer 
of  the  sick,  the  uplifter  of  the  fallen,  the  lover 
of  man,  and  the  redeemer  of  woman,  won  the 
heart  of  mankind  by  storm  .  .  .  mounted  the 

world’s  throne  to  be  the  earth’s  great  king. 
(Quoted  by  W.  Gidney,  “A  Handbook  of 
Reasons,  Facts,  and  Figures.”) 

STEPHEN  S.  WISE— Even  if  Jesus  had  not  been 


12 


born  unto  Israel,  even  if  he  had  borne  no  rela¬ 
tion  to  the  people  of  Israel,  it  becomes  of  im¬ 
portance  of  Israel  to  determine  for  itself  what 
shall  be  its  relation  to  the  man  who  has  touched 
the  world  nearly  two  thousand  years  as  has  no 
other  single  figure  in  history.  .  .  It  is  no  mean 
joy  and  ignoble  pride  in  us  of  the  house  of 
Israel  to  recognize,  to  honor,  and  to  cherish 
among  our  brothers,  Jesus  the  Jew.  (In  The 
Outlook,  June  7,  1913.) 

GUSTAVE  GOTTHEIL— The  keynote  of  prophetic 
religion  of  the  Jewish  prophets  was  holiness  of 
life  and  purity  of  heart.  Love  and  mercy  shown 
by  men,  one  to  another,  make  up  the  acceptable 
worship  of  the  Holy  One  of  Israel.  To  place  the 
Master  of  Nazareth  by  their  side  can  surely  be 
no  dishonor  to  him,  nor  can  it  dim  the  luster  of 
his  name.  If  he  has  added  to  their  spiritual  be¬ 
quests  new  jewels  of  religious  truth,  and  spoken 
words  which  are  words  of  life,  because  they 
touch  the  deepest  springs  of  the  human  heart, 
why  should  we  Jews  not  glory  in  him?  (From 
a  letter  to  Dr.  I.  K.  Funk,  October  24,  1899.) 


The  Jewish  leaders  here  quoted — and  there 
are  many  who  have  expressed  similar  views — by 
confessing  Jesus  to  have  become  the  means  of 
making  known  the  God  of  Abraham  to  millions 
of  men,  by  confessing  that  his  teaching  follows 
out  that  of  Moses  and  the  prophets,  by  confessing 
that  his  life  was  pure,  holy,  and  godly,  admit 
that  our  forefathers  passed  unjust  and  false 
judgment  on  the  Nazarene.  Consequently  those 
that  branded,  and  still  brand,  Jesus  as  traitor. 


13 


blasphemer,  and  impostor,  are  wrong,  promoters 
of  lies  and  seducers  of  the  people.  Those  that 
branded  Jesus  as  an  enemy  of  Israel  and  Jehovah 
were  either  fools,  knaves,  or  ignorant  men ;  for 
the  most  superficial  perusal  of  his  teachings,  and 
they  are  accessible  to  all,  will  convince  anyone 
who  wishes  to  be  convinced  that  Jesus’  heart 
overflowed  with  love  and  compassion  for  Israel 
and  love  and  holy  zeal  for  his  Father.  That  our 
leaders  misled  us  is,  therefore,  the  verdict  of  the 
great  men  in  modern  Israel. 

While  we  rejoice  to  see  the  change  of  attitude 
on  the  part  of  our  enlightened  Jewish  brethren 
toward  Christ,  while  we  are  happy  to  hear  the 
new  voices  that  announce  to  us  the  break  of  the 
morning  for  our  beloved  nation  we  cannot  and 
must  not  be  satisfied.  We  cannot  and  must  not 
keep  silence.  We  must  continue  to  raise  our 
voices  and  proclaim  to  3'ou,  our  enlightened  Jew¬ 
ish  brethren,  yes,  to  you  great  leaders  of  modern 
Jewry,  that  you,  just  as  our  forefathers,  are  still 
in  error,  that  your  conception  of  Christ  is  like¬ 
wise  false.  He  is  not  standing  before  you  in 
judgment.  Christ  is  not  depending  upon  your 
approval  or  disapproval.  He  is  either  a  sanc¬ 
tuary  or  a  stone  of  stumbling  and  a  rock  of 
offense.  Only  when  you  acknowledge  him  as 
the  King  and  Messiah,  and  do  homage  to  him  as 


14 


such,  will  you  have  reached  the  truth ;  and  the 
truth  alone  will  make  you  free.  To  our  brethren 
who  still  hold  the  old  views  of  Christ  we  wish  to 
say :  Let  not  the  bitter  memories  of  countless 
persecutions  committed  against  our  people  by 
those  who  called  themselves  Christians  prejudice 
your  minds  and  blind  your  eyes  to  the  beauty 
of  holiness  in  Jesus.  Lift  up  your  eyes  and  see 
what  God  has  wrought  through  him.  See  the 
blessings  he  brought  to  those  who  were  afar  off 
and  remember  that  he  is  our  rightful  King.  We 
are  wanderers,  we  are  exiles,  but  so  was  he. 
Exiled  by  his  own  to  whom  he  came,  despised 
and  rejected  by  those  he  loved  dearly,  wounded 
in  the  house  of  his  friends,  he  still  loves  you  and 
calls  to  the  weary  and  heavy-laden :  “  Come  unto 
me,  .  .  .  and  I  will  give  you  rest,” 


